BeijaFlor
Contributor
I'm certified as a recreational diver, NAUI advanced with SSI Nitrox and PADI Sidemount/Wreck/Deep.
I recognize that I'm an air-hog, but I haven't done much (or rather, quite enough) to establish my SAC rate. Some dives, I've recorded my SPG pressures at the beginning and end ... other dives, I've neglected it. Admittedly, my next project on my next diving vacation is to record it, to calculate it, to nail it down.
My question is -- what SAC rate is acceptable, for tech-diving training?
I've done a fair amount of "deep" diving, i.e. deeper than 30 meters. I've had a few dives where my computer --a Suunto Zoop, programmed for what is possibly the most conservative algorithm used in dive computers today -- went into mandatory-deco mode. Yes, I acknowledge that Ol' Debbil Deco is the Original Deadly Sin, that must be Disavowed by any Recreational Diver ... but I dealt with it, as I had to, and on surfacing I was assured by my dive-guide that I was worse at 'rock, paper, scissors' than I was at deco-avoidance.
I'd like to have the option of spending more time on the deep wrecks, for example the Japanese DC-3 "Tabby" wreck that lies at 140 feet (43 meters) in Subic Bay. With Nitrox 26, I only got 7 minutes of no-deco time ... the tech-divers on that dive got to spend a lot more time at-depth, at the admitted cost of carrying a bottle of deco-mix for planned decompression.
The option of 'planned decompression' is very seductive to me ... but let me return to my question:
What SAC rate is acceptable, for tech-diving training?
I recognize that I'm an air-hog, but I haven't done much (or rather, quite enough) to establish my SAC rate. Some dives, I've recorded my SPG pressures at the beginning and end ... other dives, I've neglected it. Admittedly, my next project on my next diving vacation is to record it, to calculate it, to nail it down.
My question is -- what SAC rate is acceptable, for tech-diving training?
I've done a fair amount of "deep" diving, i.e. deeper than 30 meters. I've had a few dives where my computer --a Suunto Zoop, programmed for what is possibly the most conservative algorithm used in dive computers today -- went into mandatory-deco mode. Yes, I acknowledge that Ol' Debbil Deco is the Original Deadly Sin, that must be Disavowed by any Recreational Diver ... but I dealt with it, as I had to, and on surfacing I was assured by my dive-guide that I was worse at 'rock, paper, scissors' than I was at deco-avoidance.
I'd like to have the option of spending more time on the deep wrecks, for example the Japanese DC-3 "Tabby" wreck that lies at 140 feet (43 meters) in Subic Bay. With Nitrox 26, I only got 7 minutes of no-deco time ... the tech-divers on that dive got to spend a lot more time at-depth, at the admitted cost of carrying a bottle of deco-mix for planned decompression.
The option of 'planned decompression' is very seductive to me ... but let me return to my question:
What SAC rate is acceptable, for tech-diving training?